Tag Archives: redemption

What Is Grieving The Holy Spirit?

Posted on by
1

(Ephesians 4:30) “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”

Have you ever grieved over someone? Usually we grieve out of a sense of loss. Maybe you lost a spouse, sibling friend or parent to death. Sometimes we grieve when we lose a relationship like in a divorce or a friend no longer speaks to us. It’s traumatic to suffer loss. What was once normal is no longer normal. We lose not only a relationship but we also lose a sense of familiarity. We feel lonely in these times. The Holy Spirit can be grieved as well. If this is true, then the closest we can come to understanding it is to look at it in the sense of loss.

We are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. He is not only the third member of the Trinity, but He is also the One who empowers the Word of God operating in us. When we live a life that denies who we now are in Christ, it’s as if He lost the person who is the product of redemption. In these times the Holy Spirit is witnessing a redeemed person who is behaving like they were before salvation. It’s as if the redemption is worthless or meaningless when our behavior matches who we were not who we are in Christ. The redeemed person who was so familiar at salvation living in Christ’s identity has reverted back to living in their own identity. This grieves the Spirit of God. Better yet, this grieves the Holy Spirit – and He is named Holy Spirit for a reason.

But think about the grace of God working in a situation where we grieve the Lord. In spite of our behavior contrary to Him and His character, His Spirit still seals us until the Church is taken up off this earth to live with Him (“day of redemption”). He continues to cover us and protect our salvation while we live out of a sense of self. He continues to indwell us even though we are impossible roommates in this earthen vessel.

The question we all need to ask ourselves is this: Am I grieving the Holy Spirit?

If so, then it’s time to make a decision to stop.

Renewed Thought – Sometimes we hurt those who love us the most. Today is the day to stop doing that.

What Was Finished On The Cross?

Posted on by
Reply

(John 19:30)  “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.”

Some people believe in a doctrine called “The Harrowing of Hell.” This term comes from the Latin phrase Descensus Christi ad Inferos (“the descent of Christ into hell). During the Reformation, in Protestant churches it came to mean that Christ took on our sins and then suffered our eternal punishment in Hell after He died. But did this really happen or is it a misunderstanding that was solidified by medieval writers and repetitive recitation of the Apostle’s Creed in liturgical worship? “It is finished” is where we find the answer.

The Greek word captured in the phrase “It is finished” is teleo. It literally means “to end, complete, execute, conclude.” Those around the cross looked on the broken, battered, and bloody man hanging there assuming His words meant that His life was finished. Little did they know those words carried far more meaning for them than they could ever hope. We hear in those words the hope for the condemned in Israel who were indicted by the prophets long ago. We hear in those words the hope for us as our souls balanced in eternity as He suffered under the weight of our sins on the cross.

[typography font="Give You Glory" size="18" size_format="px"]1. The means of reconciliation was accomplished on Calvary:[/typography]

(Colossians 1:20) “And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.”

(Ephesians 2:13) “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.”

[typography font="Give You Glory" size="18" size_format="px"]2. Redemption and the means of forgiveness were accomplished on Calvary:[/typography]

(Colossians 1:14) “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:”

[typography font="Give You Glory" size="18" size_format="px"]3. The burden of the Law was removed on Calvary:[/typography]

(Colossians 2:14) “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;”

If all of this was accomplished on the cross, then there is no doubt the punishment and wrath of God were poured on the Lord Jesus Christ while He hung there. Those hours of agony were far more than the torture of the beatings and piercings. He literally suffered an eternity for all humanity at that time. He literally became the sin, sacrifice and scapegoat. There are no other verses in the Bible that indicate His suffering continued in Hell. In fact we are given information that He preached during the three days and nights in that place.

[unordered_list style="green-dot"]

  • “It is finished” literally meant the punishment for your sins and my sins were accomplished. There was nothing else that could be done and nothing else that you or I can do.
  • “It is finished” is the declaration the payment is complete.
  • “It is finished” means we can live righteously today because He fulfilled all righteousness.
  • “It is finished” means we can live without guilt.
  • “It is finished” means we can live without self-condemnation.
  • “It is finished” means we can die to self.
  • “It is finished” means the greatest battle ever fought was won.

[/unordered_list]

[box]Renewed Thought – Christ’s work is accomplished. Now go live today a life that He paid for you to live.[/box]

How Can God Tolerate Me?

Posted on by
Reply

(Ephesians 1:7)  “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;”

It’s hard to understand how God makes me acceptable when my life doesn’t seem like it would be acceptable to Him.  How can a holy God even tolerate me when I can’t tolerate myself?  When I look at my life and see the relative unholiness compared to the Son of God, even as His child I sometimes live with self-rejection.  The fleshly response is to seek some sort of redemption in suffering.  Religion leads me to seek relief from this sense of self-rejection by co-mingling my pain with the pain He experienced in order to bring about the true unity with God I so desperately desire.  But in the end, all of these things come from the deception that true holiness is formed externally first and then transferred to an inner life of godliness and peace.

The real answer is as God’s child I am already “accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1:6) independently of myself.  In fact, God accepts me independently of anything I could ever do to conform to His holiness.  “In whom” is the answer.  Christ is the Whom.  Redemption comes from Him.  Forgiveness of sins comes from Him.  His blood is the payment that makes me acceptable in spite of myself.  The “riches of His grace” is the means by which He decided to provide redemption because I cannot redeem myself.  Riches means there is abundance.  There is a spiritual bank account of God’s grace that isn’t just full, it’s overflowing!  As my thoughts focus more and more on this abundant grace, my external life begins to conform to the life He is forming on the inside of me.  I then begin to live a life on the outside that matches what has already been redeemed and forgiven on the inside.  In my experiences, I begin to live a life that is acceptable to Him.

Renewed Thought – It is God’s goal to line up my experience with my identity.  He is forming on the inside that which He desires to reveal on the outside.